Homeschool Village~Heart for the Arts

This is my first link-up with The Homeschool Village and, ooooh, how I love the topic. Art has always been something that I've tried to incorporate into our learning but I haven't always been as successful as I'd have liked. The last two years, following the arrival of our youngest, have been the most difficult. Our wee babe is, shall we say, a handful? Spirited? Demanding? =o) We were able to get a little more accomplished mid-way through last year, so I'm hoping we're over the hump.

We'd better be because I've got a lot planned for this year. =o)

First we're going to attempt more formal artist and composer studies. We've always had some level of art/music appreciation with our Sonlight books. I was inspired to attempt this more purposfully by the art and music studies from Jimmie's Collage. Her blog and lenses are a wealth of information on how to get started. I've been scouring them and making lists for months.

We're going to study four artists and four composers this year. I plan on alternating between one artist and one composer each semester. I know Charlotte Mason advocates studying for longer periods but she doesn't live with Kayleigh. I'll be happy if we actually accomplish half of what I have planned. LOL

Artist Study: Edgar Degas, Mary Cassat, Vincent Van Gogh, Claude Monet
Composer Study: Mozart, Beethovan, Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky

We're going to be doing picture studies, creating art from Discovering Great Artists: Hands-On Art for Children in the Styles of the Great Masters (Bright Ideas for Learning), notebooking, listening to music, and field trips.

Our art program will be rounded out by:

Piano Lessons at the Young Muscians of Virginia
I Can Do All Things art program~ As a non-artsy person, I cannot praise this program enough. The bundle comes with the book, all the supplies needed, and a dvd instructor. I'm learning right along with my daughter.
How to Teach Art to Children by Evan Moor

Some of my favorite sites that inspire me are:

Art Projects for Kids~lots of fun and simple projects that will teach great skills
Deep Space Sparkle~more great art lessons
Jimmie's Collage~a wealth of info and inspiration for your artist and composer studies and, really, homeschooling in general

I've been stocking up on new art supplies at A.C. Moore. I'm loving their store brand line and the prices attached to them. We've got watercolors in all forms, pastels in all forms, quality paper for painting and sketching and a whole bunch of other goodies. And don't forget to print out your 40% off coupons.

We were very excited with our loot so we did a little project to test it all out.

It was a lot of fun but mommy needs more work mastering the art of mixing liquid watercolors. LOL

You can peek at our other art resources (books and cd's) here, if you'd like. Just scroll down to the bottom.

And that will, hopefully, be our year. =o)